Page 100 of The Rebel of Raleigh High

I’m hissing every dark, vicious curse word I can think as I thunder down the stairs, running to get to the door before Max can say anything to embarrass or humiliate me. When I arrive, however, Alex is standing with his tattooed hands resting on the shoulders of a very pale, wide-eyed young boy, introducing him to my brother.

“Ben’s eleven, too. You guys are in the same year,” Alex says. He looks up at me, and my heart stops dead in my chest.

Holy fucking Christ on a bike.

He’s wearing a button-down black shirt, the top button popped, that is tailored and fits him perfectly. I nearly faint at the sight of his sleeves rolled up, cuffed around his elbows—what the hell is it about rolled up sleeves?I swear to god…

His black jeans are brand new, minus the usual rips and tears, and his Stan Smiths look like he spent a considerable amount of time scrubbing at them with a toothbrush. There isn’t a speck of dirt on them. Alex smirks ruinously at me, biting down on his bottom lip. He begged me not to do that the first night we spent in the cabin because it was driving him crazy. I wonder if he’s aware that the action has the exact same effect on me when he does it.

“Silver, this my brother, Ben. Ben, this is Silver,” he says. There’s a cautious edge to his voice. Usually, he’s so confident and unshakable, but right now he seems downright nervous. It’s kind of adorable. I hold my hand out to the little boy, my breath catching in my throat when I look at him properly, square in the face, and I find a small, timid version of Alex staring back up at me. The shape of his face, the cheekbones, the straight, no-nonsense nose. Even his chin looks identical to Alex’s, and for a second I’m taken aback.

Alex would have looked a lot like Ben when does now when he was six. When he walked into the house and found his mother lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. Except he was even smaller, five years younger, and the mental image that conjures itself in my mind makes me want to burst into tears.

He doesn’t just look like Alex. They both look so much likeher.

Instead, I whisper out a greeting as Ben uncertainly takes my hand and shakes it. “I’m so pleased to meet you, Ben.”

“Pleased to meet you, too,” he mumbles in return. When I let go of his hand, he slips it underneath his other arm, tucking it against his body like he’s protecting it. He looks up at Alex, big brown eyes wide and unsure, and Alex nods, smiling down at him.

“S’okay, man. It’s just dinner. That okay? Silver told me Max likes to play Halo. Is that true, Max?”

Max’s never been shy a day in his life. He nods enthusiastically, grabbing Ben by the sleeve ofhissuper smart blue button-down shirt. “I have my own room for gaming. There’s a forty-two-inch screen in there. Dad got it to watch the baseball, but it’s basically mine now. Have you got Red Dead Redemption two? I got it last week, but I’m not allowed to play it until I finish Halo. Which school do you go to?” He chatters the whole way down the hallway, leading Ben toward the game room. Alex leans against the door jamb, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he watches them go.

“He’ll be fine as soon as he gets some sugar in him,” he says.

“Well, there’s plenty of that down there. Max has a number of gummy bear caches hidden in the cupboards that he thinks Mom doesn’t know about.” I step back, making room for him to pass me. “You coming in?”

“I don’t know. I brought the kid as a human shield to use against your dad, but that you just disarmed me I’m wondering if it’s safe…”

“I have excellent hearing!” my father yells from the kitchen. “You aresoscrewed.”

I flinch, screwing my eyes shut. “He’s basically going to be unbearable all night,” I admit. “Just don’t pay any attention and you’ll be fine.”

“Hey, Alex? Any idea what cyanide tastes like?” Dad hollers.

Alex glares over my shoulder. “Is he serious?”

I try not to laugh, but I give in in the end. If I don’t laugh, I’m only going to end up crying. “If he asks, it’s probably better to tell him you slept on the couch when I came over the other night. Just…act natural.”

“No one in the history of being told to act natural haseveracted natural,” Alex fires back. He does step into the house, though, essentially sealing his fate. He wraps his arms around me, stealing a kiss. I’m flushed and a little breathless when he releases me, holding a finger to my lips, pretending to shush me.

I pretend to bite that finger in return. “I’m glad Jackie let you bring Ben.”

“Yeah. Well. She’s actually been okay with me recently. I know. Shocker. Still insisted on coming to pick him up from here, but I’ve got him until eight-thirty.”

“And after that?”

Alex shrugs. “I’m yours to torture as you see fit.”

My pulse quickens as I look up into his eyes, bracing myself for what I want to say next. He can’t have had any idea, but I do have something planned for after dinner, and it reallyisgoing to be torture. I’m panicking, my anxiety through the roof, my—

Alex cups his hands around my face, frowning deeply. “Hey. Hey, what is it? What’s wrong?”

He’s so damn attuned to me. I’m pretty sure my expression is still under control, but he can tell I’m freaking the fuck out. “I—I want to talk to them. About…what happened at Leon’s party. Tonight.”

Alex’s eyes round out. “Oh.”

“And…” Jesus Christ, this is hard. “I was wondering…”

“You want me to stay with you. You want me to be there,” he says quietly.

“Yes. I’m sorry, I know it’s a lot to ask. It’s definitely not going to be fun, but—”

He cuts me off with his mouth. The kiss is light and gentle, designed to reassure and calm. Pulling me to him, he presses me up against him, and suddenly I’m safe in the circle of his arms. Sweeping a piece of hair back behind my ear, he rests his forehead against mine, his eyes fierce and firm. “Silver, you don’t need to ask. I willalwaysbe wherever you need me to be. I will sit right beside you. I will hold your hand. I will carry you out of here and steal you away if that’s what you want.I’m not going anywhere.”

I’ve made it through so much recently without crying. The days I spent sitting in a chair next to Alex’s hospital bed, not sleeping, not eating, hoping and praying every second that he was going to be okay, were the worst days of my life, but I was determined to be there every time he opened his eyes. I was strong for him because he needed me. Now, it’s me who needs him once again, and boy is he showing up. “I love you, Argento. Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay. Just you wait and see.”

And I do believe him. I trust him. I know that he’s right. He’salwaysright because he’s Alessandro Moretti…and despite everything, despite seemingly insurmountable odds, he managed to accomplish something that I told him couldn’t be done.

The Rebel of Raleigh High managed to pull down the moon…and nownothingis impossible.